Vox Pop

The dengue outbreak is a result of misgovernance at all levelsWith reference to the editorial An epidemic of sorts (November 1), it is strange that the government is reluctant to declare the dengue outbreak as an epidemic even though the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme has confirmed that the disease has killed more than 1,000 people. The government doesn’t want to take the blame for not taking enough preventive measures. What’s worse, it’s not doing anything to curb the disease now either. This is a prime example of poor governance at all levels. Tarlok Singh, via email

Out of tune with realityAbhijit Banerjee’s argument in It’s time to get real (Poverty Line, October 31) that rape cases are on the rise because people lack space to satisfy their sexual desires is ridiculous to say the least. The writer doesn’t seem to be aware of the situation on the ground. Can his argument explain the logic behind aff-luent men raping women, which is the case in a large number of incidents?Medha Arya, via email

Start the war against malnutritionWith reference to her article Spoon-feeding Melghat (November 1), KumKum Dasgupta proves that misgovernance is directly responsible for high levels of malnutrition in India. Though the prime minister recently termed malnutrition among children a national shame, his government has done next to nothing to improve the situation in places like Melghat. Dasgupta is right that the situation in such areas cannot change overnight. But the authorities can at least take the first step towards eradicating malnutrition.Ramesh Sinha, via email